The special goldfish
by MariasStory
Summary: Mycroft Holmes had always felt alone in world of goldfish and no one worthy to spend time with. Will that change, when he meets Elizabeth, a woman that could turn his world upsite down, if he just takes a chance? / Takes place after S3 E1 / Rated T to be on the safe side
1. Chapter 1

**English isn't my first language (I'm German) so I apologize for any mistakes.**

It had been a long day for Mycroft, and was way past midnight when he finally made his way home. One of the perks of his job was that, no matter he practically was the government; he could still walk home on his own, if he felt like doing it, because nobody would recognize him. He was a regular guest in the Palace and probably had more connections than the prime minister, but barely anyone knew that he was the one pulling the strings.

However on this particular night, he had decided to leave his car and take a walk home, firstly because he feared the lack of fresh air during the day could affect his brain, but also to clear his head. It was only a few weeks left until Mary and John's wedding, and even though Mycroft was not exactly good when it came to human feelings, he had to admit that they seemed very happy, and to his surprise, so did his brother.

During Sherlock's absence, he had kept an eye on both of them, and actually suspected that there was something more between them, but maybe, they really just had been missing their best friend. Not that he could understand that. The closest thing to friend he had probably was his brother, who described him as his arch-enemy, so, really, Mycroft was not an expert on the friends thing.

He remembered a conversation he and Sherlock had had, in which Mycroft described all other human beings around him as goldfish. It was true, of course, but still, he wondered what it would be like to have a relationship with someone, no matter if of a friendly or a romantic nature.

When he had almost reached his house, he heard a loud sound coming out of an alley to his right; it sounded an awful lot like the suppressed cries of a woman. Not sure what to do, Mycroft hesitated for a moment, but then slowly moved into the direction the sounds were coming from. Getting closer to what seemed to be three figures, two men pinning a woman against wall.

"No, please don't, please..." he heard the woman whisper, with a crackling voice, obviously on the verge of tears.

But the men didn't listen, Mycroft, now moving faster, saw one ripping of the woman's jacket while the other one pinned her arms against the wall.

"I'd be silent of I were you honey, we can do much worse" one said and Mycroft saw the blade of knife shining in his hand. He knew he had to act quickly.

"And I would stop whatever you are planning to do" he said loud and as calm as he could. But truth was, this was not his territory. Even after rescuing Sherlock, field work just wasn't his thing. But luckily, he had learned one thing from back then, to always carry a gun.

The taller one of the man now moved in his direction with a threatening smirk on his face, and the knife still in his hand.

"And what will an old man like you do to stop us?" the guy mocked. He seemed to have mistaken Mycroft's umbrella for a cane, seeing as he probably was not even ten years younger than him.

But Mycroft just quietly took the gun out of his jacket's pocket, pointed at the man and pulled the trigger.

Just how he had planned, the bullet missed his mead only millimeters and hit the dumpster behind him.

"Leave. Now. Or the next won will be straight into your head." He had never seen anyone so baffled, but the man obeyed, the first one dropped the knife and started running down the alley, his friend let go of the woman and joined him. Mycroft held on to the gun until he heard their footsteps disappear a few blocks away. He was just about to leave, when he remembered the sobbing mess on the wall a few meters away.

"Thank you" the woman whispered, curled up to ball and still crying. If only Mycroft knew how to react to this kind of situation. He moved few steps closer.

"Nothing to thank for, really" he said, and offered her a hand to help her get up. She took it slowly got back on her feet, silently sobbing, but luckily not afraid of him.

"Of course there is, don't belittle what you did, I don't know what I would've if hadn't been for you…" She said, and broke down in tears again. Thinking what could have happened sent a shiver down Mycroft's spine, he could not tell why, but he really felt sorry for this woman, so he did the first thing that crossed his mind and tried to hug her gently. Surprisingly, she did not move away, but instead grabbed his coat und started sobbing into his shoulder, which made him really uncomfortable, but this was probably what a normal person would do, so he contained himself and carefully stroke over her back.

"Hey, everything is okay, they're gone, nothing's going to harm you", he whispered, and after a few minutes the woman got away from him and rubbed her eyes, finally not sobbing anymore.

"Oh I'm sorry I probably got my mascara all over you." She really seemed sad about that, he wondered, like he could not just give to the dry cleaning or get a hundred new ones by tomorrow. But then again, she had no idea who he was.

"Don't worry, it's no problem. But now, shall I get you a taxi? You must want to get home." He said, grabbing his phone from his pocket, but she shook her head.

"I just moved here, I currently live in hotel, down the road, but…"

"…But?"

"Well that was where-where they grabbed me…Just when I was about to get in, they grabbed from behind and-" She shivered, "I just really don't want to go back there you know…"

Mycroft was absolutely speechless at the moment, he knew from movies and observation of human behavior what would be the right thing to do, but this much display of human emotions were just simply new to him.

"Well, um… I know I am a complete stranger, but you could stay at my place tonight, if you want to." He slowly said, hoping that she would decline his offer because he would absolutely be at loss if she decided to come.

"Really?" She asked carefully. "I wouldn't want to bother you" Before he could stop himself, Mycroft answered:

"No, you wouldn't be a bother, so I take it as a yes?" She nodded.

"Okay, then join me, I live just a few blocks away", he said and maneuvered her out of alley and into the direction of his house, when he suddenly realized that she had to be cold, after all it was a pretty cold night, and after those bastard ripped off her jacket, she was only in thin dress. Silently cursing himself in his head, took his coat of, and carefully laid it on her shivering shoulders.

"What are you doing?" she asked, in confusion.

"Well I thought you had to be cold, so…" He scratched his head. This was an absolutely new situation for him, and he did not know what to do, to say, or anything really, and he did not enjoy that feeling.

"I am, thank you" Not knowing what else there was to say, he continued walking and she followed, they reached his house a few minutes later, well if wanted to call it a house it was more of an old and big mansion.

He walked up the stairs, unlocked the door and looked around, only to see her standing on the sidewalk, mouth wide open, staring at him like he was crazy.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked confused, while she suddenly seemed to remember how to walk, and now moved toward the front door.  
"This is _your_ house? Wow, I mean…This huge! What are you, the prime minister or something?" She really seemed impressed, and that didn't fade when they entered the huge entrance hall, which was lit by an ancient chandelier.

"Or something. I have a minor position in the government." Mycroft was not planning on revealing who he was, why would he, besides Sherlock and his companion no one did. He guided her upstairs and down the hall, taking much longer than he expected because she still was very shocked and turned around to admire a painting or a statue or window pretty much every three seconds.

To his surprise, Mycroft didn't mind. It had been really dark outside, so this was the first time he could actually see her. If he had been an ordinary man, the first thing he would have seen probably would have been her skinny, but still curvy body, and her undeniable pretty face. She was a little pale, with soft dark brown her, and sparkling dark blue eyes. Even though he was how he was, he could not take his eyes off her, and that meant a lot. Still, he tried to focus a bit more.

She was wearing a business skirt with a loose fitting nude blouse underneath, some delicate platinum jewelry and a pair of black high heels. She was obviously working in a good position, but nothing to formal like bank or anything with children. She had been wearing makeup before, quite a lot it seemed, since most of it was still spread somewhere in her face. She was trying to look good obviously, so she worked with customers, but not in a questionable way, like Ms. Adler had. By the way she was admiring his paintings, he could tell she knew what they were worth, and so she probably worked in museum or an art gallery. She had told him that she had just moved here, and he could see in her manicured, but chipped nails, that she had been stressed lately. She obviously was originally from England, but she had spent some years abroad. After studying? Judging by her age, which must have been early thirties, she has studied in London, and worked here, or else she wouldn't know the city as good. She spent the last years in America, East Coast, of considered the wrong time on her Phone, probably New York, since the city was known for art.

Suddenly they were at the end of the hall, and he stopped.

"We're here" he said, pointing at the door. "There's a bathroom attached, if you would like to shower. I'll be downstairs in the kitchen, if you want to eat something afterwards, feel free to join me." He was already on his way back, when grabbed his shoulder. He turned around, and she handed him his coat.

"Ah, thank you. What's your name by the way?" He should have asked this early, he guessed, but now it was necessary but it would make getting her information much easier.

"Elizabeth. Elizabeth Gray." He nodded and turned around, when she shouted:

"Wait, what's yours?" Mycroft mentally slapped himself for forgetting to introduce himself, which sane minded woman would stay with a complete stranger without even knowing his name.

"My name is Mycroft Holmes, darling", he said on his way back down the stairs, not even noticing the "darling" that had just slipped out of his mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

**I still haven't exactly figured out how this site works, but I'll do my best to update a lot, even though school starts again tomorrow I might have to make wait a bit. It's also around 5 am where I live, so sorry if this sucks.**

**However, enjoy the next chapter :)**

Elizabeth POV

Elizabeth watched him for a few seconds as he walked toward the staircase, and then moved into what she suspected to be one of the guest rooms. Mycroft, she thought, what a strange name, for an even stranger man. Even though she now worked in an art gallery, she hadn't forgotten about the psychology classes she had taken in College. Actually, she almost became a psychiatrist but then… Well, something interrupted. However, she could easily tell that Mycroft felt uncomfortable around her, he probably hadn't thought she would accept his offer, and just offered it because it was polite.

Normally, Elizabeth wouldn't have accepted if she had any other place to go, which she hadn't, so she had no choice. Sure, it was not a smart thing to go with a complete stranger, but firstly, he had saved from what could have been her death, and secondly, he just seemed like a good guy. Even though he obviously didn't feel comfortable around her, to her it seemed like he was trying, trying very hard, like taking a woman home was new for him, which, since he was in his forties, not really bad looking and obviously about as rich as the queen, was not possible.

She took off her shoes, placed them next to the huge, delicate dark wooden bed and took in her surroundings. The room was lit by a small chandelier, and a little lamp on the nightstand. Even though there was huge window which let in the moonlight, the room was pretty dark, with a lot of dark wooden furniture, the walls were painted in a dark red, and there was old of golden decoration. It was a bit old fashioned, but Elizabeth liked it. There were two doors on left wall, one leading into huge empty walk-in-closet and the other one two a beautiful marble bathroom, with a huge bathtub and a very luxurious shower.

Even though she was really tempted to use the bathtub, she also felt hungry, and remembered how Mycroft had said something about food in the kitchen, so she decided to just have a quick shower. She still showered for over twenty minutes, which was probably considered rude, but she had feeling that he would not really mind. She just felt dirty, even after the third time of washing her brown locks and after the second feeling, after what happened, or rather almost happened, in that alley, she felt dirty again.

Coming back to London, she had wanted to forget the past, forget everything that happened in New York, she had not left her life behind just to repeat the same old shit all over again.

She stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel, looking for something to get her mind of things. Like for example, what was she going to wear? She had left her clothes on the bathroom floor, and since she apparently hadn't been very careful, they were now soaking wet. She blow-dried her hair, put her necklace, bracelet and earrings back on, and looked into the mirror. Luckily, the mascara that had been all over her face, just like her dark red lipstick were completely gone, sadly, that meant she now had to stay without make-up, go to work without and eat with him without.

She sighed. Make-up gave her confidence, and she really needed some of that now. Her clothes however were a totally different thing. She could were them to work tomorrow no big deal, even though it was already two in the morning, would be dried by then. But what was she going to wear to get food? Elizabeth doubted that Mycroft was still awake, seeing as she had really taken her time, almost an hour, so decided to take the risk and go down there in a bath robe. She tip-toed down the hall, convinced that he had to be asleep somewhere, and felt like a teenager again, which was, considering that she was 34, a bit ridiculous. She quietly made her way down the hall, suddenly see light and room right across from her, and a delicious smell coming out of there as well. She walked into the room, and looked around; this obviously was the kitchen, even though it was a lot more modern than the rest of the house, or the living room, which directly joined without a door or anything, and while she looked around she suddenly saw a person sitting in one of the armchairs. He was sitting with his back in her direction, obviously deep in his thoughts about something. Still, she gasped and pulled her robe around her as tight as she could, when he turned around.

He looked at bit puzzled at her bath robe, and Elizabeth mentally cursed herself, when he seemed to ignore that fact that she was half naked.

"I've had some pizza ordered, if that is okay for you, sadly, the cook was already gone when I arrived", he simply said. She gasped when she heard the word cook, but then again, what did she expect? There was probably a whole army of maids, cooks, and gardeners in every house as huge as this.

"No, pizza is perfect, thank you, really. And, thank you again, for - you know…" She stuttered a bit at the end, not actually wanting to relive that memory. He continued to stare at her.

"There's really nothing to thank for, it is what everyone would have done, and if I could do anything to get these guys, I would."

**Mycroft's POV**

Actually, there was something he could do, something he already did. He had sat down thinking about every detail about these men, and after narrowing it down to siblings, originally from Liverpool (their accent), living in Kensington, probably flat mates, electricians, in a family business, it took him only five minutes to find the right guys. But even that time, was time Mycroft had considered wasted, so he decided those pigs would not end up in jail, he had a, let's say, more permanent fix for them in mind, and after one quick call, the situation was handled.

He now noticed that had been staring at Elizabeth all the time, and could have slapped himself, since when did act this way? Put she truly was a vision, standing there in his kitchen in only a bath robe, her hair now in soft curls, and her face without any make up. She looked younger, but still very beautiful, and Mycroft could not remember that he had ever called any woman that.

"Me too", Elizabeth now answered quietly, „These bastards deserve to rot in prison", she said and tears started to build up in her eyes. Mycroft put the file he was just reading away and got up, walking towards the kitchen.

"Hey, don't cry again, all is fine now. Here do you want to something to eat?" Mycroft pushed the pile of pizza boxes into her direction, and she suddenly started laughing.

"Oh my god, did you order all of those?" She smiled at him, and for some reason, that smile made him smile too.

"Well, I didn't know what you would like, and I also never ate something like this before, so I got a bit of a…selection", he smiled, and she got on her tip toes to get the highest box.

Taking it down, she opened it, and smiled again. Man, that smile seriously got to him, if only he knew why.

"Mh, Hawaii, my favorite!" She took the box and moved towards the kitchen table, so he just took a box near to him and followed her, some cutlery in the other hand; drinks were luckily standing on the table.

"Haven't you already eaten? ", she asked a bit shyly. He could tell that even though she was not exactly uncomfortable around me, which he could have understood perfectly, no she was… Well he could not tell, there's a first for everything.

"No, the food arrived only a few minutes ago, and I was a bit busy." That was lie. The food was standing there for already 15 minutes, and he was not exactly busy, it was a really quite day. No, he, and he could not tell why, had actually waited for her to come down, and hoped that she would eat with him.

"Well then." She smiled, and began to cut her pizza into triangle formed slices. He had seen that before, apparently that's how you usually eat pizza, but he actually found it rather disgusting to have food directly in his hands. He opened his box, curious what he had taken. It looked like salami and mushrooms, which was, he guessed, fine. Avoiding touching, he cut off little bits and started to eat, when he noticed Elizabeth staring at him, looking baffled.

"Wait, you were serious when you said you've never had pizza before?" She looked at him like he was crazy, when he just slowly nodded, and laughed.

"Well", she hold up a slice of her pizza, "This is how you're supposed to eat it, I know it's a little disgusting to have in your hand, but it's really worth it."

Even though he had never listened to anyone before, he decided to do as she says, and really it was good, and Elizabeth seemed very proud of herself, but then seemed to remember something.

"You wouldn't happen to have any clothes for my lying around, would you? ", she asked a bit shyly. Of course, he remembered, she probably didn't want to wear the ones she was almost raped in, and even if, she needed something to sleep in. That also explained the whole bath robe thing, about which he actually hadn't thought about yet.

"Sadly I don't, but if you tell me the address of your hotel, my chauffeur can you some of your clothes." Her eyes widened a bit at the chauffeur, but she quickly got herself calm again, which Mycroft really liked, she always tried to hide her emotions, which if it was not for him, would work. Still, she suddenly seemed nervous, began to chew on her lip, and her gaze drifted off a bit.

"Um…" She was obviously looking for some lie in her head, so Mycroft did that for her.

"You don't have a hotel room", he stated. She looked at him, curious how he had known that, but Mycroft was not really a fan of lies. He got up from his chair, maybe a little too angry, and walked towards her.

"The truth. NOW! ", he didn't mean to shout that last part, but he was just sick of lies, for one because they always surrounded him, and he could always recognize them, and also, because despite everything he ever felt, which was nothing, he actually thought he liked this woman.

**Reviews are highly appreciated! Next chapter will probably involve some drama, prepare yourselves!**


	3. Chapter 3

**And it goes on, in this chapter you'll learn a bit about Elizabeth's past, especially why she left New York and stuff. Also, I'll try to include some fluff, which is really hard because of Mycroft's character so don't wonder if I get off-character. Btw, the story doesn't follow the canon storyline anymore, there'll probably be some John and Sherlock in it, later, maybe even Johnlock, if I find a good explanation. Enjoy :) **

**Elizabeth POV**

She flinched when he shouted at her. Not just because of him, she could understand why he was angry, but because it brought back memories. Memories that she was afraid she would have to talk about now. She could feel that he was trying very hard not to scream at her again, and she knew that she was on the verge of tears, but trying to act strong, she didn't dare to speak, afraid to break out in tears again.

"TALK NOW!" Mycroft shouted and hit the table with his fist. That only scared her more, she suddenly felt the tears strolling down her cheeks, and she hid her face in her hands, sobbing as silent as she could, but she felt that he was still staring at her. Then, suddenly, he walked away, down to living room, and grabbed a file from a shelf near a window. He came back and slammed that file on the table, and she gasped when it read her name on it in thick red letters _Elizabeth Katherine Gray – Confidential Information._

"How do you have a file about me!?" Elizabeth screamed, utterly shocked.

"Doesn't matter how I have it, if you don't tell me, I'll just read it myself", he said coldly and opened the file. She didn't know what was in there, but she just hoped it was nothing serious, maybe just like, a police record or something. He couldn't have access to her medical files or anything of importance, right?

"Elizabeth Katherine Gray, born on the 6th March 1980, no siblings, Parents died in a car crash seven years ago. Studied Psychology but then decided to graduate in Art History, both at Imperial College. Then got married at the age of 25 to a guy named Jackson Montgomery", she flinched at his name being mentioned and a cold shiver ran down her spine, which he obviously noticed.

"Oh, is this what this is all about? What, are you and your husband trying to get to me or something?" Even though he didn't exactly scream anymore, his voice still echoed very loudly in her head, and she really didn't feel like she could take any longer, so she jumped of the chair to stand face to face to him.

"CONTINUE READING AND YOU MIGHT SEE THAT I TRIED TO GET A DIVORCE FIVE TIMES AND IT WAS ALWAYS DECLINED! Read, come go on, I'm pretty sure you've got my medical records in there to, look how many times I've been to the ER in the last two years, black eyes, broken ribs, bruises, cuts, a broken arm! DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A HAPPY MARRIAGE? And why would I try to get to you, I don't even know who you are!" She couldn't contain herself anymore and fell down in an armchair next to her, a sobbing mess again, but she couldn't care less.

She felt him carefully move closer to her, he seemed rather shocked, so he hadn't gotten that far in the file.

"In the end it says you left New York yesterday morning, without so much as a suitcase or even a handbag, just with some cash on a last minute flight." He made it sound like a statement, but she knew that he was wondering why, she had to talk to Airport security for an eternity before they were convinced she wasn't a murderer on the run or a terrorist. Apparently, leaving your life with one way ticket across the Atlantic Ocean was considered suspicious.

"I left. I left New York, Jackson and my life behind because that violent son of a bitch also slept with my best friend, which apparently everyone knew. Then I got to London used my last money to sleep in a motel for a night, got kicked out this morning, luckily found a job at a friend's art gallery, she lend me some clothes, then I almost got raped or killed whatsoever and know I'm explaining myself to a guy I know nothing about and I don't even know why, I mean you have a bloody file about me that's I should be the one asking questions."

She felt him getting calmer, he really must have thought she was some sort of terrorist. Obviously, he also didn't know what to do. He just stood there, next to her, and rubbed her back supportively.

"I'm sorry", he whispered. This seemed to be new to him, comforting someone, another strange thing she added to the lost in her head. If she wasn't in her situation, she would have been very, very scared of him, but what choice did she have? Sleeping naked on a park bench didn't sound any more appealing.

"Look", she said, trying to hold herself together, "Can I stay here for the night? I'll be gone tomorrow but it's just so late and I… I really don't know where else to go."

**Mycroft POV**

After Elizabeth had told Mycroft her story, he was completely speechless. He would have never thought that he would like this girl so much, even the fact that he would have tolerated her would have been incredible, but no, he really liked her. And he was so angry for what happened to her, everything really, if someone deserved pity it was her, but seeing as she was acting so strong, she probably didn't want it.

"Of course you can stay the night, don't worry about clothes or anything, I'll handle it. Just- I'm sorry, really. I didn't mean to shout at you like I did."

She smiled at him weakly, wiping some last tears away. "It's okay. I shouldn't have lied. But there is still one thing, what is with this file. How did get it?"

Mycroft sighed. He admitted that she beautiful, not as stupid as some other people out there, and he even liked her, but that story he would not tell. Interestingly, it wasn't even to protect himself, it was to protect her. If she knew just, really anything, she could be used against him, and that was a risk he didn't want to take.

"I'll tell you sometime, but it's really late. Good night Elizabeth." He turned around and left the room, walking towards his bedroom down the hall. It seemed like Elizabeth stood there for another few seconds but shortly after he laid down on his bed, he heard someone lightly walking up the stairs.

But Mycroft didn't go to bed alone. He had taken the file with him, even though he was sure she hadn't seen it. He really did want to respect her privacy, which was also why he way containing himself to do any deductions. For the first time in a very long time, he had met a person he didn't want or need to manipulate, someone he didn't need to read like an open book. So he wasn't sure why he was interfering so much and reading every little thing there was about her, but he was through the pages about 20 minutes later, and baffled yet again. This woman had been through so much, and even though he had already seen worse, to read about her 14 trips to eight different ERs in only the last year, somehow hurt him.

This was new to him. He didn't know why he suddenly cared so much, why he suddenly started feeling. But he respected Elizabeth for how she stayed so strong, and he was not letting her walk out that door tomorrow morning to sleep in an alley.

__Next day_

Mycroft awoke early in the next morning even though he had slept very little, since he had been up with Elizabeth for a long time, and then still had to take care of some things. He was very tempted to use his "permanent fix" on Elizabeth's husband, ex-husband, whatever he was, but since he was in America that would take a little longer, and also he didn't know if she really was over him. Also, he had ordered Anthea to get some women's clothing delivered, size 8 he assumed.

When he looked at the clock, he was surprised that was already past eight, most definitely time to get up. He quickly showered and changed into a nice gray suit and a dark red tie, which was not surprising since he hardly owned any clothing besides suits. It was about half past eight when he made his way to the living room. He had decided to work at home for the day, even though he was said to be government, people would be surprised to know how little work it actually was. He had to do much less than other people in similar positions, since there was rarely anything happening that he was not informed about or that he hadn't been able to know about weeks before it even happened. Therefore, in a quiet time like right now, without any elections or developing wars, he was easily able to stay at home for a day or two, making some calls here and there and keeping everything under control from the comfort of his beloved armchair.

**Elizabeth POV**

Elizabeth awoke very early too, extremely tired when she first opened her eyes to the blinding sunlight that was filling the room, but awake rather quickly when she rolled over in the huge bed, and suddenly wondered since when motels where that comfortable. She sat up and adjusted the room, this was clearly not the shabby motel in West End that she'd been staying at, but then she remembered. Being broke, the men, the almost rape, Mycroft, the mansion, the fight, the file…_Mycroft_. She also remembered that she promised to leave in the morning, and it was already past seven, so after she took a quick shower and put on the clothes, that had luckily dried by now, she decided it was time to leave. What she did not expect when she opened the door was to find a whole bunch of shopping bags in the hallway. Right, she thought, didn't he tell her something about not to worry because of clothes or anything? Well, this was certainly more than the leftover dress from a one night stand she had expected. It took her pretty long to even move all of bags into the room, before she had time to look at it. She slowly began to unpack them, bag for bag, and couldn't help but gasp when she laid out the contains on the bed. Silky blouses, skirts and dresses, elegant shoes, even a coat, all from brands she knew from New York. They were that sort of brand that she would walk by on her way to buy things at target, unimaginably expensive. How much money did this guy have, she wondered, you don't just go and spend thousands of dollars for a stranger crashing on your couch.

Deciding to stop questioning, she decided to take the things, at least those she needed. Luckily, there even was some lingerie in one of bags, which she kind of desperately wished for. She settled for a simple white blouse, leaving some buttons open, a black pencil skirt and also black high heels and the beige coat on top, of course still wearing her jewelry. She was surprised that everything, even the shoes fitted perfectly, it must have been a very lucky guess. She grabbed the tiny bag she had neglected before, assuming it was probably just socks or tights which she for some reason didn't like to wear. Opening it, she was rather lucky, it wasn't tights or anything similar, it was a whole bunch of different make up products, really expensive foundation and powder, eyeliner, a dark cherry red lipstick, her absolute favorite, and even the perfume she usually wore, Chanel no. 5.

This was getting a bit weird, Elizabeth thought. A clothes size, maybe even a shoe size, you could guess, but a lipstick color, and a perfume? She quickly tried to get the doubts out of her head, her preferences weren't actually hard to guess, right? I mean dark red lipstick and Chanel perfume was pretty cliché, nothing extraordinary, she had to admit to herself while applying the eyeliner. But still, remembering last night's file, she seriously began to wonder who the hell this man was. She would've googled him had she had anything with her, her phone or laptop, but everything was still lying in a small apartment on the Lower East Side back home in New York.

_No_, she mentally corrected herself, just back in New York, home was now here in London. But still, it would've been a lot easier to start over with, let's say, a flat. Or at least money. Or even a map the city, she realized when she had finished her lips, she only remembered the gallery to be somewhere near Piccadilly Circus, but she had no idea where she was. Well, that meant she would have to talk to Mycroft one again before she left, which she honestly didn't mind.

If she wouldn't have been so sure that she was just bothering him by staying here, she probably would have had to admit that actually, she wouldn't mind staying here at all.

**BTW, it took me only about five billion tries to upload a cover, I'm no Photoshop artist, but I've tried my best, also so you guys could have an idea of what Elizabeth looks like. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, here's the new chapter! I know I've already said it's not canon anymore, but I just wanted to remind you once again. You should know by now that I am horrible with regular updating and planning my writing, so I am not even going to try to tell what's going to happen because, knowing me, I'll forget it anyway and remember once I've uploaded it. BUT, I really want some fluff, it's just that the chapter always is kind of finished as soon as there is just a slight chance of anything. Anyways, I'll try my best. And just that you know, I usually don't write a chapter at once, but about a paragraph one day, four pages the next, and finish it off a week later, that's why it's sometimes a bit confusing, even for me when I re-read it.**

**Elizabeth's POV**

It was about half past eight when Elizabeth finally made my downstairs, in her new shiny clothes that she was horrified to get stain on because she had dared to look at one of the price tags, and let's just say what she usually spent on clothes in month, was probably about the price of her shirt. All the clothes she didn't need, she had packed back into the bags, but she couldn't help but steal the gorgeous Chanel lipstick, simply because after using it once, she didn't think she would ever be able to buy cheap cosmetic again. Anyway, she had placed those bags back in the hallway, and had put on her coat, walking toward the kitchen with the sound of her heels clicking on the wooden floor.

When she entered the large kitchen, she saw him sitting in the armchair she was crying in yesterday, in what seemed to be the dining room. She hadn't noticed how huge everything in here was yesterday, but the table in the dining room kind of reminded her of the stories about King Arthur. He seemed to have heard her approaching because he put the newspaper down and turned around to, even though they were standing about 20 feet away from each other, face her.

"Good morning Elizabeth, did you sleep well?" he asked politely, standing up and guiding her to the kitchen, where she smelled some fresh made coffee. He offered her a cup but she shook her head.

"Yes, I slept well, but I guess I should get going now, don't want to be late. Um, and thank you for the clothes, that really wasn't necessary."

"My pleasure, darling, I'm glad they fit." He took a sip from his coffee mug, still holding eye contact with her, "Anything else?"

"Yeah, actually… This must sound really stupid but where exactly am I?" She looked down, feeling a tad stupid, but he seemed rather amused, having a smirk on his face.

"Well, I believe you know that you're in London?", he asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow and putting down his mug.

"Haha, very funny", she said rolling her eyes. "But no, seriously, I haven't been in London for almost a decade and I need to get to a gallery at Piccadilly Circus, is there a subway station somewhere here?"

"Well you're currently in Mayfair and it's about ten minutes to the next subway station. But it would much quicker if my chauffeur just drove you."

He had chauffeur, she thought, of course he had one. She was secretly still wondering where all the maids and cooks and gardeners she would expect to be here at daytime was hiding.  
She would decline that offer, but thinking, she remembered that before asking for an early check from her new boss this afternoon, she didn't even have enough money to take the subway.

"Wow, thank you, that's really nice. I…Well, I'll go to the car then, it's right outside right?" She was now talking very fast, and wondered why, he seemed to notice, but just nodded calmly anyway.

"Okay, then I'll just get going. It was really nice to meet you!" She didn't know if it would be awkward to hug, so she just offered him a hand, which he kindly shook. When she was about to go, he grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait-"

**Mycroft's POV**

When Elizabeth was about to leave, Mycroft knew it was now or never. He really wanted her to stay, not only because it was obviously the right thing to do, but also because he had felt his mood lighten up this morning solely by her entering a room. This was new to him, and he didn't want to give it up before he even knew what it even was, so she grabbed her shoulder.

She turned around and looked at him curiously.

"Elizabeth. Do you have a place to stay after you leave?" She looked to floor, and then up again, meeting his genuinely concerned, almost _caring_ gaze while biting her lip. "And don't try lie, I would know."

She shook her head, her eyes seemed sad.

"No I don't." She obviously had pulled herself together rather quickly, "But don't worry, I'll find something, maybe I can stay at my boss' flat or lend money for a motel."

Then, even though it was planned, Mycroft for the first time in what felt like an eternity managed to surprise himself.

"Well you could stay here, if you wanted to that is." She looked at him wide-eyed, obviously shocked which again was understandable, since this action was very unlike Mycroft. He didn't even have staff directly in his house, they were all on call somewhere in the quarter and Anthea usually informed them when Mycroft was gone so that they could do their work. Turns out that this was a solution everyone benefited from, apparently staff didn't like to be told how to do literally _anything _better.

Still, he could have sworn that despite the shock, she was relieved and subconsciously trying to hide a small smile.

"Are you serious?", she asked a bit confused.

"Well this is not actually a situation to joke about, is it? Yes of course I'm serious." He hoped she knew that he was trying to be nice but still play with her a bit, but this was completely new for him, so he was testing the waters. Turns out he'd never been nice to anyone without a purpose, and he wondered if his subconscious knew something he didn't, but that was something to worry about later. Focus was now on the still kind of incredulously looking, but now smirking a bit brunette in front of him.

"You would let a complete stranger you basically picked up from the street stay in your house for more than a night?" She eyed him curiously, she probably wondered what that said about a person, and she, being an almost psych major, must have assumed he was crazy. But little did she know Mycroft.

"I am very good at assessing people"-well that was at least partially true, but he planned to drop the file subject for well…ever," And I don't feel like there is anything to worry, or is there? And may I take that as a yes?"

Elizabeth began chewing her lip again, this time apparently weighing the pro and cons in her head, until after less than a few seconds, one side clearly outweighed to other.

"Yes. Honestly, I would like to take your offer gladly. But I have to ask again, wouldn't I be a bother? Like, don't you have a wife, or children, or any concerns?" She seriously was one of the nicest persons he'd ever met. Most people, including him, would just take advantage of the situation.

"Darling I live in this house alone, and there are about 8 empty guest bedrooms, it's not like you would be crashing on a couch in the living room. Really, no need to worry, stay as long as you want to, but I' afraid you should hurry because it is getting rather late." Elizabeth looked at the clock and her jaw dropped.

"What how can it be 8.50 shit, I have to be there in there in ten minutes! What was the direction to the subway again?"

"Remember the chauffeur, darling?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yes right thank you. I got to go, shit, but thank you, thank you so much." Most of that was screamed while she ran down the stairs, almost tripping over one and drawing a bit of attention from people on the sidewalk, but then with an adorable lack of elegance falling into the black limousine.

Mycroft smiled amused, shutting the door again, and closing eyes, back on the wall. What was happening to him, he wondered. Since when did he feel any kind of emotion towards the action of all those average minded people? Or rather, emotion in any way that wasn't satisfaction? But then again, she wasn't average.

Even if the facts said she was, there was something special about her. Something he couldn't put his finger on, the way she smiled, the way she talked, the way her eyes reflected the sun, it could be anything. But he was willing to find out.

**BTW, I don't know anything about London, never been there, too lazy to google it properly, so if the logistics don't work, please ignore it, or message me so I can correct it. Also, sorry that this is so short, I've been kinda busy lately but still wanted to give you guys something. AND: REVIEW! It always makes my day, honestly.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Just to clarify because I've gotten a bit of well… not actual hate, but people complaining to me that I should do my research. It's really hard to write a story that sets place in a city you've never been and that you know nothing about, and I would rather give as little information as I can better than writing super detailed but it's actually bullshit. So, just keep in mind that you should focus on the characters, their interaction and the story development and don't bother thinking about logistics, subway stations or names of places. If it's not common knowledge I'll just imagine names of let's say restaurants, or bakeries or anything like that, and I would appreciate if you wouldn't comment me on this topic again, simply because it just hasn't got anything to do with my story. Thanks x **

**Elizabeth's POV**

Even though it was her first day at work, Elizabeth wasn't as nervous as she would have imagined. She'd known one of the owners since her childhood; they'd grown up together, been best friends for years, but then broke apart when Elizabeth met Jackson.

Looking back, he was the main reason she never kept any contact to her friends in London, which turned out to be a huge mistake. Really he had just wanted to make sure that she wouldn't have anyone to come back to so she would just stay in New York. And though since her arrival, not all had been easy, she considered herself in a rather lucky position at the moment. A lot of that was because of Mycroft. Not only had he saved her and let her stay with him, she also started to like him.

But, unfortunately she didn't think she had a chance. Even though he wasn't married, which she had made sure of this morning ever so discrete, that didn't mean he had no one. Or was even looking for someone. Also, he could be gay. She made a mental note to google him sometime today, everyone with a house like that, an assistant, a chauffeur, and god knows what else should at least have an article on Wikipedia, right?

Anyways, when she exited the car, which magically had parked in front of the gallery without her even telling the address (which was good, since she had no idea), work was the furthest thing from her mind. But since it was kind of unavoidable, she decided she would try to make the best out of it, and she kind of welcomed some distraction. From what exactly she wasn't sure.

The gallery was very modern, with a lot of glass and metal interior and awesome artists, most of which would fit into the pop art or modern art genre, and Elizabeth really liked the paintings. Surprisingly, she had arrived on time and her old friend /boss welcomed her with a hug when she entered.

"Liz, so nice to see you, I still can't believe we'll see each other every day again?" The woman, Meredith, smiled at her. Elizabeth grinned back at her, she really had missed her.

"Aw, me too, I'm so excited!" Meredith finally let go of her, looking up and down, obviously remembering their conversation yesterday afternoon, in which she borrowed her clothes because she none, neither any money, and told her about the crappy motel. Well, let's just Elizabeth was pretty sure that any woman in Meredith's position simply _knew_ the price of just any article of clothing that was above hundred pounds.

"What happened to you though", she questioned her, "I take no more motel and borrowing clothes? Do you have any friends in London I don't know about?"

Elizabeth nervously sleeked out her blouse and began to nibble on the edge of her coat. How do you explain something you don't even really know about, she wondered.

"Well, it's a long story…"She started off slowly and then stopped, hoping Meredith would just drop it.

"You know that's just making want to hear hit more, don't you?" Well, Elizabeth thought it was worth a try.

"Okay, then I'll try to explain. I got kicked out of the motel, and when I was walking through the streets in the evening, some guys attacked me", at this time, Meredith was gasping and supportingly laying a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder, expecting the worst.

"No, everything's okay, a guy was walking by and pulled out a gun and scared them away, and then he offered to let me sleep at his place." Elizabeth stopped there for a second, not really sure how she could explain the extended stay without mentioning the file, though she wasn't sure how Mycroft had gotten it, it was probably something she should rather be discrete about.

"I'm so glad you're okay sweetie, but that does explain that you're outfit is worth as much as a small car."

"I wasn't finished, Mer! He lives in huge mansion-like house and he had an assistant get me clothes, believe me this is so surreal." Meredith looked at her in a way Elizabeth knew all too well.

"NO! It's not like that Meredith!"

"Why not? Don't tell me you don't see the Cinderella story you're living in! And besides, you deserve happiness more than anyone else I know, what's standing in the way?"

"I don't even know if likes me!" Elizabeth felt herself blushing and covered her head in hands, feeling a lot like a teenager again, and not liking it at all.

"So you do like him! Tell me more about him! What's his name, age, look, do you know if he's single?"

Elizabeth sighed loudly and closed her eyes.

"Mer, I know nothing about him, not even his job or literally anything, and I'm not having this conversation right now, isn't there work to do?"

Meredith didn't seem so keen to change the subject, but suddenly looked up on her watch, and her eyes got big.

"Liz honey, we are so going to have this conversation, but I got to go, Thomas, you remember right, my husband and the other owner, have to go check out this new artist in Brighton, I actually wanted to show you some stuff first, but we got to go."

Elizabeth just stood there, watching Meredith running around and stuffing various items in her handbag, calling for her husband who came running down quickly, not even bothering to look at Elizabeth, but jumping right into the car. And she had thought that had been in a hurry this morning, she guessed he was just as much of a drama queen as Meredith was.

When Meredith ran out the door Elizabeth stopped her.

"Wait, what does this mean?"

"You're or only employee, just run the gallery today. There are no new incomings or people picking up paintings, just keep the customers happy, close somewhere around six, gotta go, bye!" She quickly kissed her cheek and the jumped into the car.

Elizabeth walked back to the front desk, introducing herself to the computer she had to use, and enjoying the silence.

The day went by very quickly without any unwelcoming surprises, just like Elizabeth had wished it to be. A few customers had stopped by, and Elizabeth even managed to sell some paintings and gain new customers, she really liked the job, the people in London were just great and she finally felt in place again.

It was about six pm when the sun started to set between the tall buildings across the street when she decided that it would be okay to close for now. She turned off the actual light and just left on some spots, set on the most exciting art pieces, and walked to the back of gallery into the, well let's call it staff room. Though Elizabeth doubted it had been anything more than some sort of storeroom, considering there were still a lot of boxes and other various items stocked on the shelves on the wall and she was the only employee. She sat down on the computer and turned off all the systems, when she remembered what she had actually planned to do this morning before all the customers came in.

She opened a new anonymous tab, just to make sure, she wasn't sure if she was allowed to use the computers besides work. But knowing Meredith she probably wouldn't even notice. She opened google and typed in _Mycroft Holmes_.

No results. At least nothing relevant. Mostly, google asked her back if she was referring to Minecraft or Microsoft, and here and there some unimportant other stuff, and Facebook pages of people she was not looking for.

She thought this was kind of weird. If you googled her, and she pretty sure than Elizabeth Gray was an a lot more common name than Mycroft's, you would find, at some point, entries of her. A Facebook account she didn't use anymore, articles from college, advertisements from the galleries she worked at in New York, stuff like that. Nothing was just weird.

She remembered her thoughts from this morning, everyone rich like this should have at least a Wikipedia entry. She wondered if this was a reason to be afraid, knowing her luck, she could have gotten herself in a mafia clan and wouldn't even have noticed.

But she decided to go with the benefit of the doubt this time, she hated when people accused her of things, like it happened yesterday evening, she wouldn't be the person pointing fingers at others. She would maintain calm and have a conversation. Hopefully. But she had this weird feeling in her gut, that something just had to be wrong. No internet-search references, weird files that shouldn't exist, and houses cut out of a James Bond movie.

Shaking her head she got up from the computer, finally shutting it down and exiting the gallery.

_Crap, _she remembered. No car, no address, this would take a lot of time. But in the end, there had to be some things she was able to handle by herself right?

**Mycroft's POV**

After Elizabeth had left this morning, Mycroft had called Anthea back in, he secretly wondered how this woman was always available and on her Blackberry, she had to eat and sleep too, didn't she? Anyways, he had her make to guest room livable, stocked up the closet, which was now full with what probably were the dreams of any woman, at least according to the women who delivered it, but when he paid, he almost feared it could be considered too much. Well, that was at least a risk he was willing to take.

He also got her a phone, a laptop and a key for the house, since there was absolutely no way someone, whoever it was, would ever borrow his laptop. If you didn't know what you're doing you could try to lower the volume and would accidently throw a bomb on Korea.

Afterwards, he had even managed to get some work done, he somehow liked working home, less boring people who thought the world of themselves surrounding him, and he time for the actual important stuff instead of having senseless platonic small talk with people whose career's downfall he would almost bet on. But in the evening around seven, after he finished a not so nice phone call with the dear prime minister, he sat down and realized how quiet to house was. Too quiet. Wasn't there something…?

_Bloody hell, Mycroft! _That's what you call caught up in work, he had mend to call his driver to wait outside the gallery until she left, but never actually made that call.

Had he seriously just left her alone in a city she didn't know anymore without even giving her as much as an address. Typical Mycroft, he sometimes forgot that not everyone was like him and his brother and took care of everything by themselves.

He was about to get mad for his own foolishness on someone else on the phone, when he saw a familiar figure walking down the sidewalk, stuffing an underground ticket in her pocket and looking a lot like a tourist with the huge map of the city in her hands.

He watched her with crossed arms, smiling through the living room windows, when she seemed to recognize the building and happily, but also a bit annoyed by what she had to do to get there. Mycroft's smile just grew bigger. He knew there was something he liked about this woman.

**God, I hate me for always doing such long author's notes. So, let me know if you liked it, especially Meredith, I am very unsecure about my own characters, I don't feel they're believable, but since she's not a main role, I don't want to give to many details and aghh I'm just confused! Review and help me imprive guys! By the way, how did this get 50 followers?! I just saw it and felt obligated to update I would have never thought this many people liked my writing!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Guys should I start replying to the reviews? Well, I'm just going to try it out because y'all were awesome last chapter, I feel like I have to say something. **

**rycbar15**: Thank you! I really like feedback concerning my English, idk is it normal to be _so_ self-conscious when not using your mother tongue? But I'm glad it seems to work out!

**PlutoCookie: **My first constructive criticism that didn't insult me, thanks! Yes, I've noticed that I messed up the conversation between Meredith and Elizabeth, but I'll make it up next time. I'm just gonna go with she was so stressed out and hurry she didn't notice.

**Guest: **I just feel so proud because I made someone laugh, this is awesome, thank you! Well, I don't think it's too weird she trusted her that much and left her on her own, it's not like they're strangers. But I think I'll have Meredith around more often because I loooove writing girls chatting, god knows why.

**So this is where the actual chapter starts, I hope you guys like it! Btw, I decided the story sets in March, I think that's a bit later than in the series, so just that you know.**

**Elizabeth's POV**

Elizabeth was pretty proud of herself when she finally found the house. True, it took her a whole hour. True, she might have taken the underground to Mayfair by jumping over the ticket-machines. And, maybe, just maybe, she also flirted a little too much with the guy at that tourist shop in order to slip a map into her pocket. But hey, a woman has to find her way right?

The search itself was even rather interesting. She was pretty sure she saw at least three ministers just on the last two streets she walked down.

The weather in London also didn't disappointed it had rained not once, but twice on her way, but somehow she had managed to hide under roofs or in tunnels or anything dry really, so her hair was the only thing that had gotten a little wet. This was very unfortunate, because her actually nice hair turned into a weird curly mess when it came into contact with drizzle.

Despite the ego she kind of had developed while walking all on her own, she would have to ask for an umbrella. Maybe somewhere along the lines of _Hey I just wondered, are you, like a bank robber, or serial killer or something? Oh, and do you have an umbrella?_

But to be honest, Mycroft's occupation, was the furthest thing from her mind when she crossed the street walking down the familiar stairs and ringing the doorbell.

The door was opened by the owner himself just seconds afterwards. She walked past him into the hall, hanging up her coat on a wardrobe, not sure what to do, since she's never been flat mates with anyone since college. Let alone someone she didn't know. And who had a mansion. And was standing there, seeming to watch her every move.

"Elizabeth, I'm so glad you made it, I have to apologize, I absolutely forgot to get the driver pick you up." He looked at her with genuine concern, but Elizabeth just smiled at him, and placed the map on a small table next to him.

"It's okay, don't worry. I know I seem pretty helpless and pitiable, but I can do things on my own you know."

"Well, I wouldn't call you pitiable, everyone is stuck in a complicated situation sometimes, I''m glad I can help."

Now, Elizabeth had no idea what to say, she wanted ask him some questions. The problem only was that a tiny, tiny part of her, also known as her brain, wanted to interrogate and a huge part wanted to ask the questions over a candle lit dinner. So she decided to just shift from one foot on the other, probably seeming a little uncomfortable.

"Now look at you, you're all wet, you should go upstairs and shower and get changed."

She looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't even that wet, it was just her hair that had got double of its normal volume and eyeliner was kind of all over her face. Okay, she truly looked terrible.

"Get changed?"

Now he shifted uncomfortable.

"I thought since you're going to stay here a bit longer-"

"Just until I find something I promise, I'll get my paycheck soon, and-" She tried to interrupt him, but he wouldn't have that, apparently.

"You can stay as long as you want, I told you. This house is huge and empty, and what kind of person would I be to send you on the streets? As I wanted to say, I thought it wouldn't be bad to get you some necessities, you know."

She was a bit confused. She thought he had listened to her and brought those clothes back to the store? If not, what else would he buy her, since she also had the make-up?

"…Like, for example?" She asked, carefully.

"I think it's better if you take a look for yourself, this would probably sound very exaggerated. It's merely some clothes, some bathroom tools and a bit electronic basics."

"Wow, okay? You don't have to do this, you know that right?" She was beginning to walk up the stairs, really longing to look for herself, she felt like when he wanted to help a little, with that kind of money she assumed he had, it could be a bit _too much_. I mean, she did wear a 5000 £+ coat today.

When she opened the door to the guest bedroom at the end of the hall, she looked around confused. Everything looked kind of different, a lot more modern. There was a huge stereo unit on a board and an impressive collection of CDs that was sure hadn't been there before. The curtains were drawn back completely, and on the desk were a shiny brand new MacBook and an IPhone.

She gasped and turned around to look at him, but before she could speak he cut her off.

"Maybe you should also look at the closet, than you could save yourself the trouble of discovering it later."

"Discovering what?"

"That I also stocked up the closet a little."

"Like, more than just keeping all the stuff from this morning?"

He shrugged, and looked a bit like caught him doing something he shouldn't be doing. She carefully walked toward the doors she remembered the empty but huge walk-in closet to be. Opening it, she wasn't able to close her mouth, seeing that the closet was not exactly empty anymore.

To be accurate, the whole thing was stocked. There was everything, literally everything that you would need when it came to clothes. There were dozens of pairs of shoes, from sandals to boots stocked up on one wall, with some handbags in between. The other sides were filled with dresses, business suits, blouses, skirts, jeans, trousers and what seemed to be a hundred highly expensive and neatly folded shirts, right next to some incredibly comfortable looking sweaters.

Despite the fact that she felt like a little girl in a candy shop, she remembered that this was not something he was supposed to do. They had met the day before for heaven's sake.

**Mycroft's POV**

He had the feeling that he had maybe done too much. She was standing in closet, gasping and looking at everything, until she suddenly looked neutral again, as if she remembered something.

"Are you of your bloody mind?" She almost shouted, but not in an angry way that would have made Mycroft angry too, no, it was a rather adorable incredulity.

"Darling, I assure you, this was nothing, really, my pleasure", he said calmly, but a little smirking because she was just looking amazing standing there, arms in the air and eyes as big as a plate.

"Nothing?! This probably cost more than my last flat, this is more than I ever owned in my entire life! Why would you spend this much on a complete stranger?" God, he , thought, why were people always being so complicated? Couldn't she just thank him, it's not like it was hard to that she was happy deep down under the anger.

"Okay, don't question me on this, but I can assure you that everything in this room was just peanuts to me."

"I know these bloody brands, I don't think 100 000 £ is considered peanuts!"

Now Mycroft was in a little dispute with himself. She was a smart girl, she'd seen the house, she knew he had be rich. Just how rich he was, however, he actually didn't want to reveal. He didn't even know the exact number himself, there were to many hidden accounts on the Cayman Islands, and a lot in stocks… But let's just say he was pretty sure that J K Rowling was in fact not the richest person of Great Britain.

He looked Elizabeth and the eyes seriously.

"What if I told you it is, and that I won't even notice it."

Her eyes widened a little, and she seemed to get a little lost in her thoughts. She moved a few steps away from him, a little shaking. He concluded the rest for himself, she was wondering what his actual job was and how on earth anyone had this kind of money. She probably tried to google him and got suspicious when nothing turned up, which she now remembered.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and collected herself it seemed, and then spoke again.

"What are you? A serial killer? Mafia? Any sort of criminal?"

"I believe I already told you, I hold a minor-" He tried again, not really thinking it would work, she was too smart for that, but it was worth a try. Most people believed that he was nobody who just had luck in lottery or something. Anyways, she cut him off mid-sentence.

"Oh cut the crap, don't lie to me, I would know, those are your words! Now, I really would like too know what the hell I got myself into!"

"Elizabeth…" He moved a little closer, wanting to lay a hand on her shoulder, but she flinched away. Despite she obviously wanted him to turn out good, if not she would have ran this morning, but she still looked frightened and hurt. And somehow, that hurt him. Again, he wasn't sure why he didn't want her to think bad of him but he had a feeling in his gut that the top-secret that his position was, was a lot, but it was clearly not to be kept a secret if that meant hurting her.

**It's a bit short, sorry. Reviews are highly appreciated, as always! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay first things first, I'm sooo sorry that it took me this long to update I just had so much to do with school it's insane and I broke my freakin A key on the keyboard so keep in mind that while I'm writing this every time I need an A I have to pause for a second and push it very careful yet hard and it's so goddamn annoying. Btw, I think I'll keep answering reviews, I kind of like it…**

**Guest: **Thank you, and like I said, I'll get into that later I guess…

**Rycbar15: **My pleasure :) I am so desperately trying to think of a way to include Sherlock but I think I've got a nice idea figured out, stay tuned.

**PlutoCookie: **Oh reality will keep striking believe me, and thanks :)

**Guest: **Thank you, I try to make Elizabeth more independent because I don't want a cliché damsel in distress, I also don't think that would work with Mycroft's character. Elizabeth will definitely kick ass sometime soon.

**Guest: **Thank you, here's your update :)

**The Thiefshipper: **Thanks xx

**Guest: **I try to :)

**Angelforever06: **You have no idea how excited I am for that to happen, it's so hard to keep it at a realistic pace when all you want is throw them into bed already

**darkWarrior101**: Seriously? Ok, thanks. I think in Euro you write it after the number so…

**belladu57: **Thank you xx

**Guest users, you have no idea how much easier it would be to answer and recognize you if you had an account or would include a name xx**

**Elizabeth's POV:**

"Elizabeth…" He tried to touch her shoulder calmingly but she flinched away and took a step backwards.

"No!", she screamed, already feeling that she was getting teary-eyed any minute.

"I wanna hear the truth no calming down this time!"

He looked to the floor; seeming to be thinking very hard, until he looked up again, face as blank of emotions as always. But if she didn't know better she could have sworn that she saw the emotions battling behind his blue eyes.

"Elizabeth, you wouldn't believe me of I told you." He finally spoke, calmly and hesitantly.

"Try me." She crossed her arms in front of her chest desperately trying to keep a neutral expression. Why did she always have to like the wrong guys and then end up caring way too much?

"First of all, I am not a criminal. At least not in the usual definition, so there's no need to be afraid of me."

If only he knew. She wasn't afraid of him. Maybe she should be, but she felt safe with him, even now. But that didn't mean she would let her guard down.

"Just fucking tell me already!" If she had any idea where else to go, she would threaten with leaving, but since she hadn't she just hoped he would spill it out.

Mycroft sighed.

"Remember, I told you I hold a minor position in the British government?" Elizabeth nodded slowly.

"Well, it's not exactly a minor position." He looked at her expectantly, and she felt like she knew what was coming, it was a little too surreal for her brain too process. So she just furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and continued to look at him.

"Elizabeth you truly would not believe me if I told you how big my impact is. Let's just say people who know say I am indeed the government. Some like to say my hobbies are being the secret service and the MI6. For those who know what they're talking about I am the most powerful man in Europe."

Elizabeth's jaw hung open. She always loved those girls that knew responses and appropriate reactions too everything, unfortunately she wasn't one of them. So she just sat down on the edge of bed, failed, and at last sat on the floor, looking up at Mycroft incredulously.

"What about the queen? The prime minister? The cabinet, the-"He sat down on the bed a few inches next to her, after obviously thinking if she would mind the closeness. She actually was happy about it. He looked at her seriously.

"Elizabeth what I say cannot leave this room, do you understand? You can't tell anyone?"

She nodded. "Why would I?"

"And why wouldn't you? ", he asked more rhetorically under his breath. Elizabeth thought about answering, but instead just hugged her knees, hoping to look as less pitiful as possible in that position, and looked up at him, hoping he could somehow see the honesty in her eyes.

"I guess you deserve to know, so back to your question… Elizabeth, the government you know is a show. They are placed there for the public to have a somewhat trustworthy amount of people they think can handle anything, when they're really nothing but figures in a game of chess."

"And you're the one playing them?"

"I am. "

"You said you're not a criminal in the usual definition…" She spoke in a low voice, even though she wasn't nearly as afraid as she probably should have been. The perks of living with an abusive husband for years, she guessed.

He chuckled bitterly at her question.

"Elizabeth, come on, you're not stupid. You know that we live in a time where try to solve problems with discussion. But what do you think happens when discussion fails?"

Elizabeth swallowed. This was developing into a murder confession, and she didn't like it, she still preferred the perfect savior version of him her head had created.

"If you desire to leave now, feel free to do so. It is probably safer for you."

But then again, she thought, perfection was boring. And who was she to judge anyway, she was broken, more than anyone, but she could feel that he was nowhere near complete himself. Maybe she finally had a chance for the happy ending and even if not, she would never forgive herself if hadn't even tried.

She quietly got up on her feet and when she her him sigh, probably expecting her to leave, she sat down on the bed right next to him so close that her arm touched the silky expensive material of his suit. He looked at her, now it was his turn to be confused. Before he could speak again, she cut him off.

"Give me a second, I'm just really bad with words, okay?" He nodded, and politely acted like he would look away, but she could feel his gaze lingering on her.

She swallowed, still not sure what to say. "Look, even if I had anywhere else to go, I wouldn't."

She looked in his eyes, again counting on him being able to read her.

**Mycroft's POV**

He could see so many emotions flickering behind her eyes, it was hard not to get lost in them. And here he had thought cliché situations like this could only happen to ordinary men. He could see the honesty that she didn't seem able to express, but he didn't understand.

She was, compared to the usual person, rather smart, why would she willingly keep herself in a dangerous situation? That was what people would do for feelings, emotions of course, but that couldn't be the case, could it? Of course not, they had talked to each other, and even if they had, there would be no reason for her to develop any sort of caring feeling or to get attached.

"Why? ", he asked.

She didn't seem to understand what he meant, so he rephrased it.

"Why don't you leave? It's obviously the smart thing to do, and if you wanted to I'm fairly certain you would find a place to stay."

"Ever occurred to you that I want to say?" She said in a mocking tone, but her voice had this strange crackle at the end, as if what she said was really hard for her to say.

"Again, why? Why would you want to?"

"You saved my life."

"Not good enough. You already thanked me and it was what anyone would have done."

"You know it wasn't. Maybe I'm staying because I like you. And maybe I was hoping the feeling was mutual." After that, she looked down on the ground, expecting an answer he figured.

Now, Mycroft was nowhere as confused when it came to emotions as his brother, he did understand them. He understood why people did things, let it be for love, hate, jealousy. It was just nothing he had ever experienced. He had little attachment towards his parents that got smaller as soon as they planned on visiting, on which occasions he usually left the country. After over thirty years, he had yet to have anything more than a feeling of responsibility and occasional worry towards his brother.

But still, there was something different about her. He kept his distance, but he couldn't ignore what was happening. He hated to see her sad, he would have been devastated if she had left and for the first time in forever he had met a woman that he simply could not lay his eyes off.

He was about to speak, when he realized that he must have looked pretty stupid, standing there for about a minute, not saying a word. He looked at Elizabeth, to check if she was mad, but she looked more like someone just drove over her cat, which made him only feel guiltier, and she shook her head.

"You know maybe I should just leave. You don't have to let me stay, by all means, but then it's because you don't want me here."

Mycroft sighed. She was just _so_ emotional.

"Elizabeth I want you here, do not doubt that. And even though I fail to see why on earth you would like me, I assure you that you're right."

She looked as if she didn't trust her own ears.  
"W-what?"

"The feeling is mutual."

**Elizabeth's POV:**

She was already on her feet again, prepared to leave, and tears blocking her view, when he stood up too and said what she wanted to hear so desperately.

She didn't know what to answer, and just smiled at him, with the most genuine smile she had given anyone in a while, until her big mouth decided to take over things.

"Let's go out." He looked at her curiously, smirking.

"What?"

"I said let's go out. Like, have dinner, watch a movie, go to a club. You would have to pay, sadly but-" He cut her off.

"You were screaming about thirty seconds ago, found out that I am indeed an actually dangerous person about five minutes ago, and now you want to go out?"

She knew that he was just mocking her, there was an easy tone in his voice, the heaviness from before was gone. Also, she was aware that her behavior was weird, she should be afraid, and confused and maybe be the little girl she was inside and write a diary entry about how she felt butterflies in her stomach the moment he told her that he liked her, but she just really felt like going out. Also, she had barely eaten all day, so that could have had an impact too.

"Yes, I want to go out." She figured he was not an outgoing person, so this was probably pointless, but Mycroft didn't fail to surprise her again.

"Okay. Where do you want to go?" She smirked, time he got to know Elizabeth. Not a broke, homeless pitiful mess, but the person she was underneath.

"Can I surprise you?"

He raised an eyebrow, but then nodded slowly. Her smile grew, if possible, even wider.

"Meet me the door in ten minutes, I have to dry my hair." And with that, she pushed him out the room, closing the door, just to push her back against it and slide down, smiling like an idiot, but this was just working out so good she couldn't believe it.

**It's true, you don't know what you've got until it's gone, guys, appreciate you're a key, you have know idea in how many words there is an A. Reviews, as always, are highly appreciated 3**


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